Our mission is to close the workforce skills gap and move the unemployed into open positions by directly responding to the hiring needs of employers.

“We look forward to relaunching Skills for America’s Future and expanding our model nationwide, beginning with Rhode Island later this year. Through expansion of the model and thought leadership in the space of demand-driven work, Skills for America’s Future will continue to focus on meeting employers’ talent and skill needs and creating economic mobility for the unemployed and underemployed in regions across the United States. We are grateful for Skills for America’s Future’s leadership, funding, partnership and support of Skills for Chicagoland’s Future as an innovative leader and driver of systemic change.”

Founded in 2010 by the Honorable Penny Pritzker, the Aspen Institute’s Skills for America’s Future was created to provide a platform that would illustrate the power of collaboration among employers, community colleges, and other workforce partners to address skills mismatch affecting businesses and workers. Five years later, these partnerships – in practice and in policy – have matured and deepened.

As of May 2016, long-time partner of the Aspen Institute Skills for Chicagoland’s Future has assumed the Skills for America’s Future brand. Under this umbrella, Skills for America’s Future aims to replicate the Skills for Chicagoland’s Future model in regions around the country.